5 Tips for Start of the Year Success

The start of the year is intimidating. Whether you are a first year teacher or a tenth year teacher, there is a lot of pressure on those first few weeks of the school year. You want to clarify your expectations. You want to be firm but fun. You want to outline your rules but not be boring. This is tricky in any classroom but in a room full of students who have a wide range of needs – low receptive language, nonverbal, extreme behaviors, trouble with changes, etc. etc. etc. – saying it’s a challenge may just be an understatement.

Don’t get overwhelmed. Use the same strategies and interventions that work in the rest of your classroom to show explain your class rules. Use visuals. Use consistent and immediate feedback. Identify what you want to see. Teach each step. And make it easy to be good!

Use Visuals

Even if your students have verbal abilities, visuals are essential for clarifying expectations. Some of our students are tricky – even though they have high expressive language, they may not have high receptive language (ie. they may be able to talk a lot but may not be able to understand everything you are saying to them). Visuals are also imperative for your nonverbal students. Use a method they can understand when explaining something as important as class rules. I love visual classroom rules like this one to the left.

This is part of my Ultimate Pack of Behavior Management Visuals (it’s been recently updated!). I like these rules because it defined “good behavior” and “bad behavior.” Many of our kids don’t know what these terms mean. How often do you think our kids hear “be good!” or “don’t be bad”? Maybe they don’t know what “good” means. It helps to define these commonly used phrases in a concrete way.

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Can I state rules in the negative?

I don’t think there needs to be hard and fast “no negative” rules rule. Sometimes you need to say what not to do in order to be concrete but that also needs to be paired with what to do (the positive rule).

Use Consistent and Immediate Feedback

Let’s get back to those good ole’ principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Manipulate the consequences in your classroom. I don’t mean consequences in the old school your mom yelling at your 16 year old self as your drive away in her car past curfew “There will be consequences for this.” I mean consequences as what happens after the behavior. What behavior you ask? Any and all. You see something good; provide a consequence. Provide praise, an edible, a token. Use what is reinforcing to that student not what should be reinforcing to that student. Praise is not a reinforcer for all kids. That’s okay. You see something bad; provide a punishing consequence. Check out these posts for attention behaviors and escape behaviors for intervention ideas.

Identify What you Want to See

Your students need to see a concrete representation of the appropriate behavior you want to see. Whether that’s you modeling the response, you identifying when the student is engaging in the good behaviors, or you facilitating role playing exercises with your students. No matter how you do it – make sure your students can see exactly what the behavior looks like.

Teach Each Step

Maybe your students are not able to engage in the response you are looking for. You need to break down the response into little baby steps and then scale way back. Teach each step until each one is mastered. For example – if you want your student to enter the room and take off their coat and turn in their homework; try teaching each piece of this behavior chain. First teach the student how to enter the room correctly. Once they can do that on their own and correctly, teach hanging up their coat. Then finally teach turning in the homework. This may be a long process but it will be more successful in the end than trying to tackle that whole task at once.

Make it Easy

Keep in mind that more important than what your visual rules look like needs to be your schedule of reinforcement. You can have the most clearly defined visual rules or best social story ever – but that alone will accomplish nothing. You need to make sure that whatever is reinforcing the ‘bad’ behavior (attention, escape from work) is eliminated or lessened (because we can’t always eliminate it) and the good behavior that you want him to be doing results in consistent and high magnitude reinforcement. The reinforcement should be the same type that the bad behavior resulted in. Ie. if the student is taking his clothes off to get attention from teachers on the bus – him saying hi or handing a visual over should also result in teacher attention. And the attention given when he does the appropriate behavior should be way better (more frequent and high magnitude) than the inappropriate response. So even though yes – you will have to give attention to make sure he puts his clothes back on – you can at least minimize the quality of that attention (no eye contact, no verbal reprimands, etc.) Basically – you want to make the appropriate response easier for the student to get the reinforcer he wants over the inappropriate response! Which behavior would you rather do? The easy one that gets you a lot of what you want or the hard one that doesn’t? I thought so…

So geed to read that last paragraph! Needed to hear that for one of my kids. We are having a hard transition point daily that I’ve tried adjusting, but still having trouble. I’m going to use the tip to praise the good more and lessen my reaction to the bad. Here’s hoping!!! Thanks!!!

Creating a Communication-Rich Environment for Your Preschoolers to Improve Literacy and Independence

In this full day workshop, we will explore methods to increase vocabulary, literacy skills, independence, and communication skills in your preschool students! The day begins with an in-depth look at the importance of building vocabulary for all preschoolers. Increased vocabulary will lead to more advanced reading skills in early elementary and overall school achievement. This session will explore using higher order thinking questions, play based learning, a focused read aloud, discrete trial training, and fluency instruction to build vocabulary with your preschoolers. We will also examine how appropriate and purposeful use of visuals helps build executive functioning skills with our younger learners. Learn how to utilize visuals to improve organization, planning, following directions, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility with preschool students. We will explore specific strategies and examples of how to create visuals, teach appropriate use, and utilize on a daily basis.

Functional Literacy

This session will examine literacy instruction for all types of students. We will review instructional planning, activity ideas, and specific interventions. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies into your functional literacy instruction.

Adapted Books: a Literacy Based Solution for Engaging IEP Instruction

Learn how to target a wide range of literacy goals for early childhood students using interactive and hands-on adapted books. An adapted book is any book that has been modified in some way that makes it more accessible. Adding moveable pieces, simplified text, and visually based comprehension activities to your existing favorite books can help increase student engagement. In this session, we will explore ways to create your own adapted books that build both foundational language skills and more advanced literacy concepts.

Using Your Academic Data to Making Curricular Decisions

Learn how to use your academic data to drive your instructional decisions. Explore a variety of ways to effectively and efficiently take data that is useful. In this session, we will review using rubrics, rate of responding, frequency count, and tracking prompt levels to take data on both basic and more complex academic skills. After collecting the data, then you need to use it! Learn how to utilize your data to plan supplemental activities, write additional goals, or strengthen foundational skills.

The goal for all general education and special education students is to be learning, engaged, and independent. Begin this process by identifying each learning and behavioral challenge as a Can’t Do or Won’t Do. Is the work or work process beyond your child’s skill level or is the motivation to complete the task not there? Explore learning obstacles by improving executive functioning skills and adapting academic work. Add a proactive element to your behavior management system by implementing positive reinforcement to increase positive behaviors within your class. This session is jam packed with ready to use strategies for general education and special education classrooms.

Behavior Contingency Maps

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.” In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

Behavior Contingency Maps

We live in a rule-driven world yet so often our children and adults lack the understanding of these guidelines. Behavior Contingency Maps show a visual representation of everyday rules. These maps illustrate the consequences that result from both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These maps are an ABA based intervention and help identify the ABC pattern of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) and will give your student or child a concrete way of understanding that “if, then” relationship – “If you do this, this will happen.” In this session, audience members will explore the purpose & use of Behavior Contingency Maps as well as leave ready to implement this strategy immediately in an effective and positive way!

Using Organization and Structure to work with Individuals with Disabilities

Working with the adult population can be very challenging. It can be tricky to navigate the often under-funded world of adult education in a way that is helpful and age appropriate for our adults. It’s a daunting task to create an environment that is meaningful and engaging. Individuals with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your adult day program classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning curricular planning.

Data Collection: Making it Easy and Useful

The key to successful data collection is to make it easy and doable! No matter how great your data system is – if it’s too complicated you won’t use it. In this session, learn how to make your data system work for you. Learn how to create specific and individualized data sheets in a fast and simple way. We will discuss ways to take data that are efficient, time saving, and useful. Once you have all this data, you need to know what to do with. Making data based decisions is critical in determining if progress has been made. Organization is the major component to a successful data system. We will discuss methods of organizing your data so you can access it readily. Staff training is also essential. Learn how to work with your staff so data is taken consistently across all areas of your classroom!

Literacy Instruction for Children with Autism

Children with autism are capable of learning to read when provided structured and individualized instruction! This session will provide detailed instruction on strategies to teach pre-reading skills, oral reading fluency, sight word recognition, reading comprehension, and word attack skills. This session will be focused on methods to organize and implement these strategies within special education classrooms for students with autism. Students with autism benefit from structured tasks, the use of visuals, multiple exemplars, discrimination training, and routine based instruction. Learn how you can incorporate these strategies to effectively teaching reading to students with autism. This session will also focus on the organizational aspect of reading instruction. We will discuss scheduling, grouping students, training paraprofessionals, and more!

Behavior Change – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

This keynote presentation is perfect for a varied audience. Teachers, parents, clinicians, and other support staff will benefit from this proactive and real-world based perspective on behavior change. In this workshop, we will investigate how to increase positive behaviors, decrease negative behaviors, and how to handle emergency situations where nothing goes as planned!

Reducing Problem Behavior Using Function Based Interventions

Aggression and other problem behaviors can be the biggest obstacle to running a successful classroom. Whether extreme or mild, these behaviors can stop our teaching and halt student progress. In this session, learn how to use function-based interventions to efficiently and effectively reduce problem behaviors. In this workshop, begin by identifying target behaviors and determine the reason behind these maladaptive responses. Use this information to select an appropriate and effective intervention. In this session, we will discuss a multitude of interventions for each type of behavior.

Seven Steps for Setting Up a Stellar Autism Room

It’s a daunting tasks setting up an autism classroom or appropriately integrating students with autism into the general education setting. Students with autism are all so different and have a vast array of needs. Many of these learners need to be taught individually. It can seem impossible to effectively teach a group of such different students when so many of us our understaffed. In this session learn how to organize, setup, and structure your classroom. We will discuss everything from creating an efficient classroom schedule, the physical structure, using visuals, creating a data system, and beginning your curricular planning.

Adapting Academics

Learn how to create curriculum that is engaging, appropriate, and at your child’s level. In this presentation we will go through a variety of instructional techniques, program goals, and material suggestions for language arts and math instruction. This workshop is incorporates ideas for all levels of learners.

Fluency Instruction – Make it Functional! Make it Fast!

Fluency is accuracy plus speed and is a must-have when it comes to making the skills we teach functional in the real world. Learn how to implement fluency instruction in your classroom with this interactive workshop. This presentation covers instructional strategies for both lower level learners and more advanced academic and functional skill sets.